April 2026 | 501(c)(3) Approved | Donations Are Tax-Deductible

Sponsor-A-Can has been federally recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity by the Internal Revenue Service, effective April 16, 2026. Every donation made to Sponsor-A-Can is now fully tax-deductible.

January 2026 | Contract Renewed | A Trusted Kitsap County Partner

Kitsap County has renewed Sponsor-A-Can’s contract for the third consecutive cycle, continuing our shopping cart recovery and encampment outreach work through June 2026. We are grateful to have maintained this partnership through a 30% county budget tightening — a testament to the value county staff place on what we deliver. Through 2025, our work contributed …

2025 | 446 Carts | A 53% Reduction in the Silverdale UGA

Across 2025, Sponsor-A-Can collected, cleaned, and returned 446 abandoned shopping carts to their owners. The work contributed to a 53% year-over-year reduction in abandoned carts across the Silverdale Urban Growth Area — a measurable improvement to the public realm.

2025 | 446 Carts | A 53% Reduction in the Silverdale UGA

Across 2025, Sponsor-A-Can collected, cleaned, and returned 446 abandoned shopping carts to their owners. The work contributed to a 53% year-over-year reduction in abandoned carts across the Silverdale Urban Growth Area — a measurable improvement to the public realm.

2024 | 944 Carts | $424,000 in Recovered Asset Value

In our first full operational year, Sponsor-A-Can recovered 944 abandoned shopping carts, returning an estimated $424,000 in retailer asset value to the community. Every recovery was GPS-tagged and independently auditable through our county stakeholder portal.

October 2024 | Phase 2 | Contract Extended to Illahee

Following a successful pilot, Kitsap County extended Sponsor-A-Can's contract for a second phase covering October 2024 through March 2025. Our service area expanded from the Silverdale Urban Growth Area out to Illahee State Park, broadening our impact across Central Kitsap.

September 2024 | Pilot Complete | 560 Carts Recovered

Sponsor-A-Can successfully completed Kitsap County’s first cart recovery pilot, running from March through September 2024. Across six months we collected, cleaned, and returned 560 shopping carts — demonstrating the model and earning the county’s continued partnership.

March 2024 | Pilot Begins | First County Contract Awarded

Sponsor-A-Can launched its first contract with Kitsap County in March 2024 — a six-month pilot to collect, clean, and return abandoned shopping carts across the Silverdale Urban Growth Area. The model that began here has scaled into Sponsor-A-Can’s flagship program.